**Welcome to the IC thread for North Prairie Adventures! I'm Tom the GM! Please use an alternate color for your character's spoken text and proper punctuation (even if your character speaks another language or has a funny accent). Out of game comments should be spaced one line away from your in game descriptions and surrounded by double stars like this.**

The sun emerges from a cloud and begins its slow decent towards the Rockies, it's light shining down on the cracked pavement of Wizard Avenue. The street is far from crowded, with only a few vehicles idling its length at any point. Pedestrians enjoy a wide berth whether they are a lumbering robot, a ferocious creature from another dimension, or merely a single mother going about her daily errands. On the north side of the avenue stands an old building about 40 feet tall with faded red paint. It's charming antique sign hangs above the oversized entryway, both it's metal fastenings and the man upon winking down at the street below. The Red Barn it proclaims in refurbished lettering.

Some of you are out walking on the street and some of you are in the lounge but all of you hear an inhuman bellow. There are several shouts of alarm from outside as the voice begins yelling in rough American. "Alright you filthy little rat, I'm sick of your stallin'! Where are those psi stalkers? You said their trail led here so where are they already!?"

**Everyone roll a Perception check (1d20) to find the source of the bellowing. Those of you outside on the street get a +5 to your roll.**

Pedro stops in his tracks, glances at Dark Energy and cranes his neck in search of the one who is yelling.

Morgan's head slowly rises from his drink, turning from the conversation he was listening to. He tries to move silently towards a nearby window to see what the source of the ruckus is, and trips over a chair and smacks into the wall before making it to a dusty window and peering out, mouthing the incantation for Armor of Ithan...

**OOC: weirdly, there seems to be no modifiers for Perception checks for having cybernetically-enhanced senses. That seems... odd. In any case, I'm rolling my base Perception roll, and I'll leave it to you to decide if there should be anything added for my amplified hearing.**

Karsh takes another swig from his enormous mug of badly-brewed local beer, and addresses Rex, who is sitting across the table from him.

"Grunt. The only thing wrong with these bigger towns is all the damned noise!" Karsh is a study of disinterest, and has not noticed Rex's reaction to the shouting (and has also not made any mental connection between the shout of "Psi Stalkers", and his dog-boy buddy).

The Technowizards were a friendly bunch, Jane thought to herself as she crossed the street towards the Red Barn, if you didn't mind throwing around some hard specs and high-end techno-jargon. She didn't, and so had spent a pleasant few hours conversing with them. She'd kept her own TK Revolver carefully hidden in her pack to keep up appearances as a humble scholar.

She glanced at her reflection in a nearby store window to check her disguise. With a pen stuck through her loose ponytail and her pack dangling over her shoulder, she looked thoughtful and just a little eccentric - perfect scholar material. She mulled idly over the origins of the name "The Red Barn" in case some one should ask her.

A sudden bellow from down the street made her look for the source of the noise, but it was the yell that followed that made her blood run cold. PsiStalkers... With an effort of will, she schooled her features to show nothing other than polite surprise at the shouting, while she quickly masked her ISP.

After watching the interesting mans spectacle, with a smirk Fae'lin puts her drink down and slowly makes her way to the same dusty window that he ended up at, searching for the source of that annoying yelling. 1d20+1=11 Perception Roll

For the request which I am going to ask of you, please reply with either "Okay" or "Yes".

**OOC: I'm net really sure how to roll perception and add my Dog Boy bonuses, so I ask Tom to adjust my roll and pm me accordingly with instructions. I trust Tom will also let me know if there are any Magic or Psychic effects within 50' of me. I'll make my "Detect Supernatural Beings" roll as well.**

Rex's ears perk up at the sound of the bellowing, and his head snaps towards the door as the word "psi-stalkers" is heard. He bounds to the nearest open window and thrusts his head out, trying to determine the cause of the ruckus.

A Zen Koan:A Master said unto his Student,"I Own you, Bitch. Know this."And the Student was Owned,And Knew it.

Dark Energy had been walking down the street (by now having obtained a brown vest to wear over his costume, bought for a dollar bill which was apparently an "artifact" of some sort... who'd have thunk it. If that's not ok, just let me know, Tom. It's just a regular old vest.) with Pedro chatting it up when he hears the sound of that voice... as if he were a practiced military Ranger, he spins and pinpoints the source of the voice. Yeah he lucked out, and he was only a cook in the Army, but hey, he can pretend, right? He points out the source to Pedro and says in a low voice,

Karsh continues muttering for a few moments before he looks up from his beer and notices that Rex isn't there. Seeing his friend's agitation over by the window, Karsh shifts from "indifference" mode to "ok, something might be wrong here" mode... meaning that, with a distinctive whirr, a couple of rockets are auto-loaded into his launcher-arm. Just in case.

"Rex? Somethin' bothering you? What's up?"

Karsh begins scanning the local radio waves with his multiband scanner, just to see what might be going on... (Radio: Basic roll = 65%), but doesn't likely learn anything useful.

Morgan, Fae'lin, and Pedro don't make their perception checks and spend the next few seconds looking around the street and trying to see what other people are looking at. If they are within view of someone who rolled an successful check (you all are) you see people look somewhat alarms and some are actually fleeing the area. The window that Morgan and Fae'lin are at has a bad angle on the scene.

Karsh, Rex, Dark Energy, and Jane make successful Perception checks and see a large humanoid shape with gleaming cybernetics and grayish-blue skin. The creature stands about 9 feet tall with a metal skullcap over half his head that betrays his optical enhancements. His torso is armored but two long bionic tentacles stretch above each shoulder and are pointed at whatever, or whoever he is pinning to the wall with both hands. Punstarr, you are the only one with a clear enough line of sight to notice that he also seems to have some bionics in his legs since he has metal feet and calves poking out from under his...kilt made of animal pelts. His belt has many pouches and compartments hanging from it including several over sized sheaths and a large holster.

Karsh, you flick the radio onto a couple of channels but you haven't been in town long enough to memorize the bandwidth that the sheriff uses so you decide to switch the radio back off for now and focus on the creature outside.

Rex, you turn your mind inward to listen to that tickling sensation just behind where you smell things. You sense at least one Psi-stalker IS in the area. You can't tell where because of all the magic in the hangar next door but he's definitely within a couple blocks and using psionics! the creature across the street is some sort of demonic being but he radiates very little energy, what grabs your attention the most however is what he is pinning to the wall...

Rex can't quite put his nose on it but there's something very scared, and very familiar being bullied by that thing!

*Everyone roll D-Bee Lore or Demon & Monster Lore if you have it. Karsh you may make a Cybernetics Lore roll to identify the specifications of the implants you have seen so far.*

There is a small sound only discernible to Dark Energy (since Karsh and Rex are indoors right now) before the creature bellows once again. "What do you mean 'it just ends'!? Did they learn to fly before they got to the airport? Did someone else vaporize them before I had the chance? If they're dead you better find out who killed 'em so that I can get them instead. Otherwise you'll be my dinner tonight!" The creature leans in close and lowers his voice to growl*. "You may be small but I can have you as an appetizer if I'm denied a proper meal of revenge."

Inside the Red Barn the patrons that are curious have moved to the windows while the others are bunched at tables in the back of the room. Most of the people on the upper level of the lounge have done the same, but since there are no windows upstairs there is a crowd near the bottom of the staircase.

Out on the street there are a couple of cries of alarm from the less hardened townsfolk. Most of the locals are simply avoiding the loud creature and going on with their business. Some travelers and local toughs have stopped to watch, from a safe distance, but none look like they're going to step in.

*Unfortunately since they're indoors and don't have super-hearing, Morgan and Fae'lin don't hear that quieter part.

**Note, the books don't list the skin color and the only color picture I could find from Palladium had grey-tan color. I'm ruling that these creatures have a bluish tinge to them like I always picture in my head.**

Tom the Fanboy
Enthusiasm over Accuracy!

"You should totally put that in your signature Tom. You drain 1d10 investigators per round." -Dustman

Being that everyone's attention is focused elsewhere, Morgan ceases to worry about being stealthy, abandons his spell preparation for the time being, and moves to where he has a better view of the disturbance. Upon sight of the creature, he tries to remember what little his mother taught him of Demon Lore. He is unable to recall any mention of such a creature, but nevertheless, he dislikes the tone it is using to address people.

Morgan begins looking for appropriately sized shadows for his Shadow Meld, hoping to get closer for a better understanding of what is going on.

**Demon Lore check (35%) = 73No PPE spent for Armor of Ithan, as he abandoned the incantation.
Begins incantation for Shadow Meld (10ppe), assuming he can find the kind of shadows he seeks.**

Jane felt the familiar numbness settle over her mind as she masked herself to the world. A lot of psychics found the feeling uncomfortable or even alarming, but she was quite used to it, and even took a bit of comfort from the sensation. For a time she was safe from the prying eyes of any nearby psi stalkers.

Curious townsfolk had slowed around her to watch the spectacle happening across the street, and she drifted over to join them. She was unfamiliar with D-bees, being from Chi-Town, so this large, angry cybernetically-enhanced creature interested her. She was also interested in hearing what he and his companions had to say about the psi stalkers...

She was lucky enough to not have many run-ins with wild psi stalkers on her journey to WyNeKota, but she certainly had heard horror stories about people who have run across groups of them. If there's groups of them around, she wanted to know about it. She shifted to the edge of the crowd to hear the conversation and to see if she could get a better look at who or what was being throttled.

Dark Energy's eyes narrow as he witnesses this display. No matter where you go, the bigger seek to subjugate and bully the weak and smaller. Apparently this place is no different from anywhere else in that regard. He nods to Pedro and says "Be right back" as he rockets into the air, speeding down the street at 220 mph, stopping not 30 feet from them. He hovers in the air about a foot off the ground, his fists crackling with energy as he regards the cybernetic giant... his instincts as a hero fairly strong.

Seeing others being attracted to an area in the streets, Fae'lin moves in to get a better view of were all the commotion is coming from. Upon getting there she is surprised to see someone there floating in the air not far from the large creature and its opponent. Fae'lin steps in a little closer, with a smile on her face, both curious about whats going on, and with instinct, is ready to assist the seemingly heroic floating man if necessary.

For the request which I am going to ask of you, please reply with either "Okay" or "Yes".

Rex looks back at Karth and whines slightly in the back of his throat. He then subvocalizes, knowing that Karsh's hearing will pick it up, but most of the bar's patrons will miss what he's saying. His Dog Boy armor and Coalition eqiupment has already drawn a few nervous and angry glances from the townsfolk, and he doesn't want to have to hurt anyone.

"Karsh! It's a bad guy! It's hurting someone in the street. They're looking for someone, maybe a psi-stalker. The guy it's hurting is...different somehow. Some flying guy in weird clothes is facing off with it. He's got energy coming out his hands! "

Last edited by Thunderhowl on Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

A Zen Koan:A Master said unto his Student,"I Own you, Bitch. Know this."And the Student was Owned,And Knew it.

Karsh sighs and gets up out of his chair, looming over the heads of the other patrons, and prepares to follow Rex's lead... uncertain who this floating fellow is, or which side he and Rex are going to take (Psi-Stalkers are bad? Or good? Karsh can't remember Rex's prejudices here). He moves towards the door and out into the street...

"What now, little buddy? You know these guys?"

Last edited by Xaq on Tue Jan 29, 2008 8:58 am, edited 1 time in total.

Rex hesitates, knowing that if he darts into the street and is seen, the creature looking for the psi-stalker may think Rex is WITH said psi-stalker.
He peeks back through the window to watch the confrontation unfold, wishing that he hadn't left his C-12 locked in the truck.

A Zen Koan:A Master said unto his Student,"I Own you, Bitch. Know this."And the Student was Owned,And Knew it.

Karsh convinces Rex and makes sure he's armed. As Karsh exits the lounge, the other patrons move away from the windows. Some are worried about the coming fight and others could hear the activation of the minotaur's weapons and are dreading the certainty of a fight. Before Rex can turn the rifle right side up the Fae'lin slips past him and moves into a good spot on the street out front. Morgan begins a new incantation but notices that while it's nice and dimly lit in the lounge, the street outside has very few suitable shadows to meld with, it's not even an hour past noon at this point and while each building has a shadow that's plenty tall, none of them are nearly dark enough yet.

Out on the street the spectators have moved back to about 50ft away, Jane and Pedro end up in the front of the crowd to the West. Jane hears the priest next to her say something under his breath. Pedro pushes his hat back and leans to the side a little bit, still unable to tell just what the creature has pinned to the wall since Dark Energy is now in the way.

As the newcomer in the strange outfit floats in midair (confusing Rex slightly since he doesn't detect magic or psionics from him) the creature drops his prisoner to the ground and turns slowly towards him. One of the tentacles stays pointed at the person on the ground but the other drops to eye level and pivots with him to glare at the newcomer. The electric eye is an angry red and the normal one is a fiendish yellow, they iris tight and narrow respectively as he prepares to unleash a roar...
However as it notices that Dark Energy is floating, it stops and takes another breath, perhaps calming down a bit before answering.

"The problem?" it scoffs, "There'll be no problem once I get hold of those damned stalkers that did THIS to my crew!" The monster hefts rope with a half dozen monstrous heads on it in the air for all to see. Each of them is maybe a week old but all are the same race as the living one staring down Dark Energy. He seems like he wants to say more but he has also caught sight of the cyborg minotaur that has made its way onto the street behind him.

**Before we get into combat, lets get pre-emptive Horror Factor saves from everyone now that they've gotten a good view of the thing.
Pedro's save 1d20=8 he fails.**

*Alina, Rex, and Punstarr have PMs coming with information that only they get**

Tom the Fanboy
Enthusiasm over Accuracy!

"You should totally put that in your signature Tom. You drain 1d10 investigators per round." -Dustman

Dark Energy is either hardened to such fearsome sights or just doesn't realize how much smaller he is compared to the monstrosity, nor has the creepiness of seeing the severed heads sunk in... either way, he seems wary but unafraid, his jaw set. He tilts his head toward the poor creature the monster had been threatening.

"I have no idea what a 'stalker' is, but there are far more polite ways of asking people questions than threatening them. I'm not saying it isn't efficient, but just because you're bigger doesn't give you the right to terrify those smaller than you. Step back a bit and we can talk this over like civilized beings... no need to get angry".

He's prepared to dodge and fire if needs be, but he seems genuine about wanting to talk.

Fae'lin tenses up realizing that this may just turn really really bad. She centers herself and prepares for the possible battle. With little concern she says:
"I sure hope you know what your doing flyboy. Sure doesn't look like he's in the talking mood."